Lisi, Gravenhurst
City of Lisi (Spring 2010 population 90,371) is a city in the eastern end of Gravenhurst Region, in the Imaginary Lands of Nicholas. Located approximately 50 km east of the City of Archemedes, the region's biggest city and commercial hub, the City of Lisi is by far the fastest growing city in the entire region, doubling its population within a mere year. Its fast growth has lead to numerous advances in infrastructure in the recent years, such as completions of major roads and highways and the Lisi General Hospital. The city is the capitol of the Lisi Metropolitan Area, which is home to more than 110,000 people, or equivalent to 10% of the region's population. The city also has the most diverse cultural make-up, with the largest percentage of other race and origins when compared to other cities in the region with a similar population. History The Lisi area (broadly referred to as the Peace River Valley area) was used as hunting grounds for centuries before European contact the land. In 1422, Jim Taylor and his group of explorers, including Lisi (whose this city was named after from), arrived into Gravenhurst Region with a medium-sized canoe through various sizes of rivers, entering from the south of the continent, and finally reaching to the shore of Lake Haldimond near the Peace River Valley Delta area. The community first established as a trading post in 1422 near the current intersection of Seaport Road and City Centre Road. The village established back then was preserved, and which one of the motorable lanes in the community is named after Jim Taylor, namely Jim Taylor Road. In the 1500s, as Europeans spread inland, and as the population grew, there became a significant need for a port to transport goods back to Europe. Though most of the goods are manufactured in Archemedes, the port was decided to be built in Lisi. A road, called the Cypress Pass (nowadays The Cypress By-Pass) was a road transporting goods to Lisi. The goods was proposed to be shipped from the port built in Lisi. In 1523, Lisi was established as a port, with booming population. The population back then, was near 10,000, the third biggest from Borden and Archemedes. Some industries have even relocated their plants in Lisi. As Lisi boomed, the population quickly grew. In 1840, the port was assigned the official status of a town, and in the same year, a railway was constructed from Archemedes to Lisi. The railway later expanded in the late 1800s, and assisted Lisi to quickly grow. In 1936, reaching a population of almost 20,000, Lisi was assigned as a city. In 2004, a new giant of business and industrial park, along with a massive upgrade of the Lisi Seaport has lead to a drastic rise in land value and real estate in Lisi. Beginning from 2004, massive tracts of land north of Taylor Hill Avenue (which remained to be the urban fringe boundary for over a century) was finally developed. Massive new subdivisions and new immigrants moving into these subdivisions has brought Lisi to a multi-cultural standard city. Today, these subdivisions continually to extend upwards towards Wellington. It is expected that when the subdivisions are all complete by the end of the 2010 decade, there would be at least 300,000 people residing in Lisi. Geography The city of Lisi is located on the plains near the shores of Lake Haldimond, and extend northwards towards the Wellington Highlands. The City of Lisi is located at the mouth of the Peace River emptying into Lake Haldimond. A piece of reclaimed land between the current Highway 1A and Airborn Avenue is created for the enlargement of the seaport in 2004. City boundaries The city is bounded by the Peace River and the Haldimond Railtracks to the west, the Gravenhurst - Pickering boundary (Lisi Creek) to the east, south by Lake Haldimond, and north by the Lisi - Wellington Townline. The city spans over a tract of land of 161.9 km², when factoring the water area, the city spans over 261.7 km². Cityscape The city is made of several affluent neighbourhoods. Its major communities include Downtown Lisi, St. Justin, Bruce, Fontclare, and Baudelaire Hill. There are plans to refurbish Downtown Lisi within the next decade. Significant commercial developments have already set foot in the proposed Downtown Lisi. Industrial Development Most of the industrial developments, providing as much as 20,000 jobs, are located in the Lisi Seaport area. However, there is a remnant of an industrial park, which is still in operation, just near Highway 506 and Carmalita Avenue. This industrial park has been existed since 1808, and is still in operation. While its total area has been shrunk to give way for other developments, parts of it are still functional. There are additional industrial developments, perhaps to an upwards of 1,000 jobs in the Flanders. There are also minor industrial developments outside of the city, including in Williamson, and in Airborn - Oppel. Public Spaces In 1983, the City of Lisi enacted a by-law by protecting the major streams and rivers with greenbelt parks. This was put into place for Peace River as well as the Lisi River, thus forming the Lisi Greenbelt. The city also features parks in the City Centre near the town hall and the bus terminal, as well as a woodlot near Lumber Forest Drive. Sports The city is home to the Memorial Sports Team. The team is divided into divisions of various kinds of sports. These divisions operate as if they were different teams, but they share the same name. The Memorial Sports Team play the following sports: * Basketball * Soccer * American Football * Ice Hockey * LaCrosse * Baseball * Badminton (National Sport) Media Due to the proximity of Lisi's location to Archemedes, Lisi shares many similar sources of media, such as radio and television stations, with Archemedes. However, Lisi is the home city to Lisi Daily, The Peace Sun, and The Lisi Star. The Haldimond Television is also based in the city. The Lisi Rock Radio Station is also based in the city. Economy Though containing traces of commercial developments, Lisi mainly relies on dirty, manufacturing, and high-tech industries as its main economic source. In addition, logistics also play a major supporting role of the city's economy. The city's strategic position near Lake Haldimond has aided the city earns a lot of income with cargo vessels coming in and out docking every day in and out of the harbour. Demographics As of Spring 2010, the city's population was 90,371. The city doubled its population from 36,982 at the same time last year. The city, within the past year, has exceeded Lethbridge, Topsity - Zephyr, and Mapleview in terms of population. The city currently ranks 3rd out of all municipalities in the region in terms of population in Spring 2010, and is expected to exceed the population of Vandehogan by Winter 2010. From the current trend, by 2012, the city would house about 200,000 people, a population double of its current size. Government Lisi has a city status within the Gravenhurst Region, meaning it is responsible for its own expressway system and local roads system. In additional, Lisi will also have to fund for its education institutes, utilities, and hospitals within the city limits. However, transit systems are maintained by private companies and monitored by the national government. The Lisi City Council consists of (in order of ranks) a speaker (who controls just the council), a vice-speaker, a mayor (who controls the city), a city manager (also called deputy mayor), 2 councillors in each of the transportation, city planning, education, health, financial, utilities, seasonal management and safety departments, and 8 Members of the Council (M.C.) representing each ward in the city. The wards in the city is divided per grid in the grid-like road system in Lisi. There are about 5 subcommittees, advisory committees and round tables within the city council. These bodies are made up of city councillors and private citizen volunteers. Transportation The city's public transit is mainly provided by Gravenhurst Regional Transit (GRT), which operates about 20 bus routes within the city, and two contracted Pickering Transit (PT) routes within the city. The city's public transport service is also provided by the Golden Corridor Line and the Haldimond Corridor Line as provided by GO Transit, which also operate several railway stations in the city. Viva Bus Rapid Transit (VIVA) has also announced future plans of building a bus rapid transit network in Lisi. This may happen as soon as 2011. There are plans implementing Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) in the near future to resolve overcrowding issues along Lisi Boulevard. There are also plans to construct a municipal airport just south of the municipal's boundary, namely Lisi Municipal Airport, which is to be completed by 2011. Lisi has a grid like system of arterial roads. Most of the grid-like road system is paid for and maintained by Gravenhurst Region, and the regional roads are each assigned a number. The square grid of major city streets was laid out by the concession road system. The local road system is paid for and maintained by the city itself. Lisi also funds the Peace River Expressway, which is a downloaded portion of Highway 510 from the regional government. Within the city, the region also pays for and maintains Highway 506, which connects to Pickering County Route 90 and to Archemedes. Peace River Expressway (PRE) is currently in constant constructions to cater population growth needs. The expressway is currently rated as the sixth most busiest expressway in the entire region. Nearby Municipalities Category:Lisi Census Metropolitan Area Category:Gravenhurst Region